Recently, a facebook friend of mine was trying to convince me not to become a catholic (I’m planning to join the Catholic church after going through RCIA in the fall). He’s an eastern orthodox Christian who has a thing against the Roman Catholic church and was trying to tell me that that Catholics and Calvinists have the same view on unconditional election.
“. . .if you are planning to become Roman Catholic, you are actually bound by the Popes to not call doctrines like unconditional election heresy. This is because unconditional election is a key and essential part of Thomistic theology, arguably the dominant theology of the post-schism Roman Catholic Church. This places a heavy emphasis on unconditional predestination. It’s interesting to me, because Calvinists and Thomists seem to interpret Romans 9 identically.”
*note: I never said that I was decrying unconditional election as heresy. I don’t know where he got that idea.
He also proceeded to provide me a quote from Thomas Aquinas:
“God wills to manifest his goodness in men: in respect to those whom he predestines, by means of his mercy, in sparing them; and in respect of others, whom he reprobates, by means of his justice, in punishing them. This is the reason why God elects some and rejects others. . . . Yet why he chooses some for glory and reprobates others has no reason except the divine will.”
Is this quote in context, and if so, what was Aquinas trying to get at?
I personally never believed in predestination, even when I was a protestant (at least not doctrine as espoused by calvinism). However, I’m hoping to being proven wrong on predestination, and I would like help understanding what the catholic position on Predestination is. I personally believe that predestination and free will contradict one another, but again, I’m open to being corrected.
Thanks in advance, and God Bless.
